Conferees Agree On TEA 21 Reauthorization Framework
July 1, 2005
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Late in the evening of June 30, House and Senate conferees reached tentative agreement on an overall framework and funding level for the TEA 21 reauthorization bill (H.R. 3) -- $286.4 billion over six years, with reportedly $52.6 billion for transit. Earlier in the evening, Congress passed an eighth temporary extension of TEA 21 through July 19, which the President signed into law on July 1. Conferees struggled in recent days over a number of highway related issues, including the portion of highway funding included in the so-called "minimum allocation" (the percentage of gas taxes returned to the state where they are collected), the amount for highway earmarks in the bill versus the amount for earmarks in the appropriations process, and the split between House and Senate highway earmarks. Conferees agreed on a framework to address these issues, and staff are expected to negotiate details within this framework over the July 4 recess.
Congress will be on recess from July 2 through July 11. With a tentative framework on TEA 21 reauthorization reached, the transit community needs to keep the pressure on for enactment of the bill.
ACTION CALL! Contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives in their district offices during the July 2 through July 11 congressional recess. Urge them to push for enactment of a long-term bill no later than July 19. |
Appropriations Update
The full House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Transportation, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District of Columbia appropriations bill (H.R. 3058) by a vote of 405-18 on June 30. The bill would provide $8.482 billion in FY 2006 for the federal transit program as reported in APTA's June 23 Legislative Update. The increase of $836 million over FY 2005 is the largest ever one-year increase for federal transit funding and is consistent with guaranteed funding in the House-passed TEA 21 reauthorization bill. During consideration of the bill, the House adopted an amendment by voice vote to increase Amtrak funding to $1.2 billion. The Senate subcommittee is expected to mark up its version of the appropriations bill the week of July 11, but its consideration on the Senate Floor may not take place until September.
For more information on appropriations or reauthorization, please contact Rob Healy of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4811 or email rhealy@apta.com.
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